NASCAR is an extremely popular racing event in the United States and it is becoming more so every single day. However, if you are new to the entire scene, things can no doubt be a little confusing. This article is meant to sort all that out and set you on the path to becoming a true NASCAR fan. So let's start with what NASCAR actually stands for and where it came from. A person called Billy France Sr. founded the NASCAR on 21st February 1948. NASCAR stands for "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing". As you can guess from the acronym, the races were meant to be between 'stock' cars. Stock cars are cars that have been built for general purpose driving and definitely not for racing. To give you a better idea - when you are buying a standard car from an auto showroom you are buying a stock car. However, if you have seen at least one NASCAR race or even seen the photos you will know that the cars that participate in the races now are anything but stock cars. These cars have been built from the ground up to be speed monsters. These cars are built for high speed races. Not all cars can qualify for the races either. The cars need to have a standard American made four-door form factor. They also must have fenders. This is very important because it allows cars to have side-by-side contact without their wheels locking up and wrecking the cars. There are highly specific requirements that NASCAR cars must meet. The specifications need a NASCAR car to weigh in at 3,400 pounds. A NASCAR car needs to have a wheelbase of exactly 110 inches. The engine should be 358 cubic inch V8. So you will not see those specially built pointy-nosed cars that run on formula-one races. Think of it as a throwback from the stock cars era and what differentiates NASCAR from other races. Current eligible cars include the Dodge Charger, the Toyota Camry and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Just to put things into perspective - a NASCAR car can generate over 750 horsepower in comparison to a showroom stock Chevy Corvette that can generate only 400 horsepower with its V8 engine. The NASCAR committee oversees the many NASCAR races that take place throughout the country. But you can start by looking at the top three races to begin with: - 1.Sprint Cup Series 2.Nationwide Series 3.Craftsman Truck Series To make things even simpler, just remember that if people are simply referring to the 'NASCAR' they are probably talking about the Sprint Cup Series. That is because it is by far the most popular series in the country. And the most popular race of this series is most definitely the Daytona 500. This race is so famous that it has numerous mentions in pop culture like in movies and stories. The NASCAR itself has many pop culture references and it also has a video game based on it, which regularly releases a new version. Like fans of other spectator sports, Nascar fans love to show their enthusiasm for the sport by proudly wearing the Nascar logo on their shirts and hats.
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